count the flaws in perfection
by tanabatadreams
Summary: Sasuke, Sakura, and something unattainable wedged in between. Twoshot. CollegeAU.
**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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"Stop looking so grumpy, Sasuke. People we know are here." Mikoto chided her younger son.

"Tch." He answered, turning away, frown still in place. "I told you I didn't even want to come. Who cares about this stupid art exhibit?"

Facing him with a frown of her own, Mikoto spoke sternly. "Listen Sasuke, whether you like it or not, attending these events comes with the Uchiha name. If you don't mind your status when you're out blowing money, then you should embrace this aspect of it as well."

"Besides, the paintings this time are really quite something. If you quit being stubborn and look around, you might actually enjoy yourself." She added with a small smile.

Heaving a deep sigh, Uchiha Sasuke pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and stalked away from his family.

Shoving his hands deep into his pocket, he moved across the long white hallway, hardly sparing a glance to the pieces on display.

" _I don't know what she's talking about. They look the same to me_." He thought to himself as he casually analyzed the paintings on the wall.

Turning left, Sasuke found himself in hallway more dimly lit and, much to his delight, less crowded than the one he just exited. Sighing in relief, he slowed down his pace.

The first few pieces were landscape paintings, more generous in color than others at the exhibit with perhaps a hint of inexperience in them.

" _Probably a new artist then, that explains the sparse crowd."_ He thought offhandedly. " _They're good, but hardly remarkable."_

His apathy, however, was short lived. His feet came to a halt as he stopped in front of a portrait of an old woman baking in the kitchen.

Despite himself, Sasuke's lips parted slightly in awe. The attention to detail was spectacular. The light through the window, the fine lines on the woman's face, the softness of her eyes, the traces of flour on her cheeks and hair, everything spoke of how much attention the artist had paid to the setting. For a long moment, he stood there analyzing the painting.

Feeling eyes on his back, he looked around to see a woman near the end of the hallway scrutinizing him. For the second time that night, he was left breathless.

She was wearing a deep maroon dress that clung to her like second skin, her sky high black heels made her legs go on for days, the off shoulder neckline of her dress revealed her pale, creamy skin, soft pink hair spilled around her shoulder in waves, and her green eyes sparkled more than the champagne in her hand.

Closing his mouth, Sasuke held her her gaze. Pretty as she was, he had had sexier, more beautiful woman fawn over him, and if she turned out to be another one of those shallow women, he wouldn't spare her a second thought.

Their eyes stayed locked for another few moments and he was almost certain she was going to make her way over to him, but after a while she just frowned and walked away.

Blinking in confusion, Sasuke tried to make sense of what had just happened. Shaking her image out of his mind, he turned to acknowledge the painting in front of him one last time before moving on to the next exhibit. Much to his surprise, all the paintings that followed were portraits and human figures painted with acute details, better than any he had seen before.

Completing his tour of the hallway, Sasuke retraced his steps to locate his family. He saw his mother buying a painting of sunflowers and talking to the curator, while his father and brother stood a few steps behind.

"Ah, Sasuke. There you are. I was beginning to think you left." Mikoto said, spotting her son walking towards her.

Sasuke only nodded in response and she resumed her talk with the curator.

"So little brother, where did you disappear? Found anything that caught your eye?" Itachi winked at him.

Sasuke turned towards his elder brother and scowled. "As a matter of fact, I did find something interesting."

"Is that so? That's surprising, you generally don't spare a glance to any of the works at these events." Mikoto joined her two sons and husband after winding up her conversation with the curator. "Why, you must definitely show us what quipped your interest!" she said, smiling brightly.

Grunting in response, Sasuke started walking towards the direction of the hallway where he found the portraits, leaving an unsaid invitation for his family to follow in his wake.

The response of the rest of the Uchiha family was quite similar to Sasuke's. Everyone was awed by the stunning details of the paintings, and arrived at the decision of buying three portraits.

Finalizing the deal, Mikoto said to the curator. "I simply must meet the artist of these paintings. These are by far the best portraits I've ever seen!"

The curator, a blonde woman in her fifties, smiled warmly. "Certainly, Mrs. Uchiha. She's a young painter, but she is incredibly talented! I'll send someone to fetch her for you."

Sasuke zoned out as Mikoto and Fugaku continued to speak to the curator, and only snapped back to reality when he heard the curator announce the arrival of the artist.

"Ah! There she is! Miss Haruno, over here! These are the Uchihas, the ones buying your paintings."

Once again, Sasuke locked gazes with green eyes, as the girl he saw earlier approached his family, and once again she tore her gaze away. Smiling warmly, she shook hands with Mikoto and Fugaku and thanked them for their generosity.

His parents spoke to the girl for another few moments before congratulating her and saying their goodbyes.

Later that night, when the event had come to a close and the Uchihas were making their way home, Sasuke caught another glimpse of the roseate in the gallery's parking lot.

He watched from a distance as she got into her silver sedan and drove out of the lot, and his coal black eyes widened as he recognized the familiar 'KonohaU' sticker on the rear windshield of her car.

He almost jumped when he heard his brother's voice in his ear.

"Looks like it wasn't just the paintings that caught your eye, eh little brother?"

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"Ehhh, Earth to Sasuke-teme! Where's your head man? I've never beaten you so easily before."

"Dobe. You've never beaten me at all."

Shutting off his PSP, Sasuke lay down on the grass of Konoha University's senju quad and closed his eyes.

" _The dobe's right. My concentration is shot_." He admitted to himself.

Dusting off his pants, Naruto stood up and spoke.

"Well, we're clearly not getting any gaming done today. I'm off to see my girlfriend, you wanna tag?"

"Tch. Yeah, right."

"Oh c'mon. She's a fine arts major, the art department isn't too far from here."

Sasuke's eyes shot open. "The art department?"

 _Cotton candy hair, wide green eyes, a silver sedan with a KonohaU sticker._

Standing up, Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Fine. I'll tag."

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They crossed the quad and jogged the short distance to the University of Konoha's art department. It was the oldest building on campus, with Victorian Gothic architecture. The boys weaved through the crowd of students and climbed up the stairway.

One by one, Naruto opened the doors in the hallway and peaked inside. He was on the fourth door when Sasuke spoke.

"Idiot. Don't you know which class she has right now?"

"Uh, hehe," Naruto grinned sheepishly, "Not really, but it's not like there are a lot of classes in this building. She should be fairly easy to find."

Sasuke was just about to yell at Naruto for not thinking this through when Naruto exclaimed.

"There she is!" He said, peeking into the sixth class room. "Hey! Hinata-chan!"

A girl with long raven hair and pale lavender eyes looked startled at the sound, but as soon as her eyes landed on Naruto she smiled shyly. Making her way over to the door, she spoke.

"Naruto-kun! What brings you here?" she spoke in a timid voice.

"Well, I've got classes all day today, so I won't be able to meet you later." Naruto spoke. "I thought I'd drop by now."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hinata let out an airy laugh and said "That's very sweet of you Naruto-kun."

Gesturing towards Sasuke, she spoke again. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, Hinata this is Sasuke, my best bud, and Sasuke this is Hinata, my girlfriend." Naruto stepped aside to introduce them to each other.

"It's nice to meet you Sasuke-san, I've heard a lot about you." She said, extending her hand towards Sasuke.

"Just Sasuke, and likewise." he responded, shaking her hand.

She smiled and turned back to Naruto, discussing something with him. Leaving those two to be, Sasuke craned his neck to survey the people in the class, sharp, onyx eyes on the lookout for a head of pink.

Spotting no sign of the girl he saw at the exhibit, Sasuke turned his attention back to his friend and his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but I have to go, class will start any minute now. I'll see you tomorrow, ne?" she said apologetically.

"There's no need to be sorry, Hinata-chan! I just wanted to see you before my classes started." Naruto grinned, pulling her into another hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" He said in parting as he and Sasuke made their way down the stairs.

Hinata flashed them a smile and went inside her classroom.

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The sky was beginning to darken by the time Sasuke exited his last class for the day.

Sighing deeply, he made his way towards the parking lot of the university, reflecting back on the events of the day.

" _What was I thinking? KonohaU is the largest university in all of fire country, of course I wasn't going to find her by peaking into a few classes_." He thought to himself as he walked. " _Why am I trying to find her, anyway?"_

Lost in his reverie, his mind failed to register the flustered girl running in his direction until she dashed right into him.

"Shit. I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." He heard a vaguely familiar voice say.

"It's okay, neither was I." lifting his head up, Sasuke's eyes widened as he came face to face with the same sparkling green eyes.

It seemed like she recognized him, too, for she spoke. "Oh. You, uh, you're the guy from the gallery. The Uchihas, right?"

"Hn." He grunted in acknowledgment, then glanced down at the fallen book on the ground. Bending down to pick it up, he frowned in confusion.

" _Anatomy and Human Musculature_?"

Picking it up, he rose to return it to the rose-haired girl, only to find her staring at him with the same indecipherable expression as the one she donned at the gallery.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow in question, handing her the book.

"Oh sorry, um, nothing. Thanks, by the way."

"Aa."

"Well, nice to meet you, I'm Sakura." She said, offering her hand.

"Sasuke." He supplied, shaking her outstretched hand.

"You must thank your mother again for me, Sasuke. Her purchase really helped me out." She flashed him a pretty smile. "I'm in a bit of a hurry right now, so I'll see you around I guess."

"Uh, yeah. See you." Said Sasuke, stepping aside to let her pass.

She offered him another smile as she continued on her way and Sasuke felt his throat go dry.

" _Sakura, huh_?"

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 **A/N: That's chapter one! Expect the second chapter sometime soon, it's ging to be far more intense. Tell me what you thought of it in the reviews!**


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